Family Portrait
by bjames238
Summary: OTH Fanfic based on the song Family Portrait by Pink. Pairing: Brucas They're married with 2 kids. But something so bad happened between kids and they've been broken ever since. Can their family help before it's too late?


**Family Portrait**

Author Notes: Umm . . . this fic was especially hard for me because I've seen first-hand what domestic violence can do to a family. So . . . I hope you like it. If you haven't heard the song "Family Portrait" you might want to. Whether you read the lyrics or not is entirely up to you.

"Fine!" Lucas Scott shouted, slamming the front door behind him as he left.

"Fine!" Brooke Davis-Scott yelled at the closed door. She stared at the door a few moments before falling to her knees and bursting out crying. She moved to lean against the arm of the couch and on to a pillow. This, by far, had been the worst fight she and her husband had had so far.

Sophia covered her ears to stop the sound of her mother crying from absorbing in her ears. She sat in her bed, her knees drawn up to her chin and her back firm against the headboard. Tears ran down her own cheeks as she rocked back and forth. Her mommy and daddy were always fighting, and she just wanted it to stop. Sometimes they fought about things that didn't make sense and Sophia hated it. She just wished her family could be like Aunt Haley and Uncle Nathan's, or Aunt Peyton and Uncle Jake's family.

Glass shattered downstairs and Sophia bit down on her tongue. Mommy was throwing things now, most likely everything in sight. She always did this and Sophia hated it. Her mother always, _always_ had a hissy fit. Other wives didn't do things like that. They kissed their good luck and he went off to work. Other families may have that tradition, but Sophia's didn't.

Sophia had tried everything to get them to stop, but nothing worked. She'd even gone so far as to tell Daddy that Mommy didn't know what she was saying. She didn't mean anything. He'd humored her, of course, but never truly believed her. Truthfully, Sophia didn't believe it either. "Mommy's just sad," Daddy would always say, "She's just sad and doesn't know how to handle her sadness."

Sophia knew the truth, though. She knew, of course, that her mother had been _a little_ sad in the beginning. Maybe she was still sad, but now she was mostly just angry and mean.

"Sophia Elizabeth Scott! Get your goddamn ass down here RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!"

Sophia cringed at the sound of her mother's angry voice as the red crayon that had been in her hand fell to the ground. The crayon snapped in half, creating tiny red marks all over the picture of her family she'd been drawing.

Shakily she stood up and ran down the stairs to her mother's voice. She found her mother, Brooke Penelope Davis-Scott, standing in the middle of the living room. The older brunette's hands were on her hips and her right foot extended away from her hip. Sophia inwardly shivered again.

"What, Mommy?" Sophia squeaked. Compared to the nine-year-old's blue-denim overalls and red undershirt, her mother wore a knee-length, tight-fitting, sparkly, black dress with lots of shiny, silver jewelry necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. On her feet were very high heeled black shoes that showed her toes and the top of her feet.

Sophia gulped.

"_Where_ is your brother?" Her mother's voice was very loud and scary and Sophia jumped at the sound of it.

The young child shrugged, "Nanna Karen came and said she had a surprise for him and I could go next time." She held her breath, waiting for her mother's reaction.

"What!!!!!!!!!!!" Sophia jumped again, the drum-sound voice of her mother ringing in her ears, "Why did you let that - that woman do that?"

Tears stung in Sophia's eyes, "I - I . . ."

"Well," Brooke yelled, "Spit it out!"

"I - I didn't know he wasn't s-supposed to go," Sophia whispered, the tears coming our of her eyes. Brooke grabbed her daughter's arm, tightly. Sophia cried out, "Mommy stop!!! Mommy you're hurting me!!!" Sophia twisted in her mother's grasp, desperately trying to break free. Her mother's long red fingernails dug into Sophia's skin, "Mommy please!"

Brooke blinked, letting go of Sophia's arm. The older brunette stumbled back, disoriented. Sophia cringed, leaning away from her mother, staring at the older woman.

"Go!" Brooke suddenly yelled. Sophia jumped, "Go. Leave. Get out of this house. Now!"

Sophia jumped as if to attention as a soldier.

"Go!" Brooke yelled again. Sophia jumped again, her eyes wide. She ran away from her mother and out the front door. She raced to the garage and got on her bicycle. She rode as furiously and as fast as her short legs would allow her. She cried all the way across town to her uncle Nathan and aunt Haley's house.

As she rode up the driveway she threw her bicycle down and hurried up the front porch to the door. She sobbed as she pounded on the door.

The door opened and Sophia's aunt Haley appeared, "Sophia, sweetie, what are you doing here? And where's your jacket, it's cold."

Sophia proceeded to babble while still sobbing. She held her sore arm close to her.

"Honey, I can't understand you. Come in out of the cold and calm down," Aunt Haley put her arm around Sophia's shoulders and the young girl followed her aunt into the house. Aunt Haley led her niece over to the couch and they sat down, "Okay. Now tell me what's wrong."

Sophia took several deep breaths just to try and catch her breath.

"That's it, Soph, just breathe," Haley patted her neice's back.

Finally Sophia calmed down enough and she could breathe. Aunt Haley waited patiently. Sophia took another deep breath. Her voice trembled, "D-Daddy left an-and Mommy's angry!" Tears washed over her face.

"Honey, what are you talking about?" Aunt Haley ran her hands through Sophia's hair.

Sophia nodded, crying, "Then while Mommy wasn't home Na-Nanna Karen came and t-told Michael she had a surprise for him and I could c-come next time. When Mommy found out she got a-angry." Sophia held her hurting arm close and sniffled.

"Sophia, sweetheart, did something happen to your arm?" Haley asked.

Sophia sniffled, nodding, "Y-Yeah. It hurts."

Haley reached out to look at the child's arm, but Sophia shook her head and held it closer, "Did somebody do this to you?" Sophia nodded. "What was it? Who hurt your arm?" Sophia didn't say a world. She stared down at the floor, a single tear reaching the tip of her nose. Haley inhaled, "Sweetie, was it your mommy?"

Sophia sniffled, again nodding, " Please don't make me go back there, Aunt Haley!" The young brunette sunk her head in her aunt's chest, wrapping her small arms around the older woman, "Please . . ."

"Ssshhh," Haley held her neice close, "It's going to be okay. Sshh! You're safe now. It's okay." Feeling her neice sob in her arms, a few of her own tears fell from Haley's eyes.

To Be Continued . . .


End file.
